“Our State Fair is a great state fair

Don’t Miss it don’t even be late

(our state fair is great)

It’s dollars to doughnuts at our state fair

It’s the best state fair in the state”

Who doesn’t sing this old Rogers and Hammerstein song after attending a state fair?  Especially when one visits the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, Washington!

The Evergreen State Fair has something for everyone (literally!). We found easy affordable parking and were greeted by friendly ESF staff. Soon the smell of manure filled the air and the soft sound of tires squealing could be heard in the distance. We had a rough idea of what we wanted to see first, so Chad, William and I set off.

The first thing we did was attend the lumberjack show. These demonstrations feature amazing skills and precision, where the lumberjacks test their speed and accuracy in throwing axes at targets, scaling tall timbers, chopping various logs and burling on logs in water.

If you’ve read our previous post about the Sedro-Wooley 4th of July Loggerodeo, you should know by now that Chad and I have become lumberjack aficionados and have a great appreciation of the art and entertainment behind lumberjack shows.

We watched the famous All-Alaskan pig races, which delivered on their promise of ‘thrills, squeals, and mini-spills adding up to ‘pig-a-riffic’ fun”. Who doesn’t love a good pig race, my goodness they are so cute!

Later that afternoon, we went to the Evergreen drift event at the State Fair speedway and we hooped and hollered when cars crashed into each other (when in Rome…).

Throughout the fair there were lots of animals (everything from bunnies to goats to horses to cows…

And then there were the rides (including the “I can’t believe this is legal and they let people ride on this thing” Zipper. The Zipper was a ride Chad rode on when he was a kid and we are convinced this is the exact same machine (with screws and bolts as old!).

On the Zipper, you are put into a cage (a cage, mind you!) with no seatbelt to secure to your seat. The only luxury/safety precaution is the padded roof because you will hit your head when you spin upside down as you flail about the cage (because you aren’t belted to your seat!). Much screaming ensues, but it sure is a fun ride.

And there was food…as with any state fair, the food was plentiful and caloric, but who could resist? We finished our day with a famous raspberry jam filled Fisher scone – yum! Sometimes at the fair, you even make new friends as William did with this beautiful horse inside the stables.

We enjoyed that the Evergreen State Fair is smaller than the Puyallup State Fair (which has changed its moniker to the “Washington State Fair”). The Puyallup is fun, but if you go be prepared for hoards of crowds. Evergreen, by contrast, is much more manageable and less crowded. We left the fairgrounds satisfied that our experience was worth every penny of the admission ticket and vowed to return again next year.

Important Travel Notes:

Address of Fairgrounds:   14405 179th Ave SE, Monroe, WA 98272.

Admission: Gate prices are listed below. There are additional costs for rides, food, the drift races, and other special events (such as concerts).

Adults (16-61 years of age) $10.00

Senior Citizens (62-89 years of age) $7.00

Senior Citizens (90 years & older) Free

Youth (6-15 years of age) $7.00

Youth (5 years & under) Free